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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740438">Falling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimberedFir2048/pseuds/TimberedFir2048'>TimberedFir2048</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Milo Murphy's Law</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cute, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay time uncles, How Do I Tag, I just have zero idea what I'm doing, I'm not dead don't worry, Idiots in Love, M/M, Might Be Discontinued, Murphy's Law, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Temporary Character Death, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Y E A R N I N G, Zack’s just gay but Milo is bi, because we love them, because why not, bradley my bad, depending, don’t mind me, everyone is bi, fight me, im gay and I can’t spell, literally just vibin’, or it might not, sue me, there needs to be more people in this fandom, they’re doing their best leave them alone, they’re not very good at advice but they try, threw some Bradly/Melissa in there, who knows - Freeform, you know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:48:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,700</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimberedFir2048/pseuds/TimberedFir2048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Milo had fallen.</p><p>And he had fallen hard.</p><p> </p><p>(Or, two halves of a whole idiot yearn gayly for each other over the course of several chapters and almost die because of it as several already established couples look on in exasperation)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota, Melissa Chase/Bradley Nicholson, Milo Murphy/Zack Underwood, Mort Schaeffer &amp; Chad van Coff, Mrs. Murawski/Mrs. Murawski's Desk (Milo Murphy's Law)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. In which Milo figures out what it’s like to be gay and yearning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There should really be more people who ship this, I literally started shipping it two minutes into the first episode, they totally work together. I haven’t seen all of season 2 yet so timeline might be a bit muddled but Bradley has a plant tentacle because I like it, also he may be a little bastard but we stan him, he’s great. Anyway, chapter 1, enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Milo had never had very good luck.</p><p>Everyone who knew him, even just a little - everyone who had even heard of him - knew this about him. Milo was a bad luck magnet. The opposite of a rabbit’s foot. Broken mirrors occurred in his house every day, often multiple 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 a day. He was a black cat walking under a ladder indoors with an open umbrella. He was a jinx. He was cursed. So was his father. It was just a thing. A little thing called Murphy’s Law, which stated that, at any given moment, anything that could ever possibly go wrong in that moment, would indeed go wrong.</p><p>Especially around Milo.</p><p>But after dealing with this little condition all his life, he was used to it. He had his never ending backpack with three times as many items as he could ever need - and he had pretty much used them all. But he never let it get him down. He knew that anything that happened wasn’t his fault. He knew that there wasn’t anything he could do to change it - but he was okay with that. In fact, he didn’t want to change it. Life without Murphy’s Law would be boring. Why ride the bus to school when you could run through the woods chased by a herd of stampeding wildebeests in tuxedos being ridden by monkeys playing yellow flugelhorns at 8:30 in the morning? It was way more fun. Dangerous - he had ended up with a sprained ankle, and neither Zack nor Melissa had gotten away completely unscathed either - but so much more fun. Milo loved Murphy’s Law. It made life interesting. And he was always prepared for any eventuality. There had hardly been a time where a situation actually caught him off guard.</p><p>Which was why he was awake at 2:51 in the morning on a Tuesday, laying spread-eagle on his back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling with a giddy smile, eyes glazed and thoughts racing.</p><p>Milo was finally out of his comfort zone.</p><p>For a normal person, that would be scary. But not for Milo. No, being out of his comfort zone meant he had finally run into something genuinely surprising. Which meant life was about to get even more interesting than normal.</p><p>He was in love.</p><p>And this wasn’t just his previous little middle-school-level-crush-on-Amanda attraction, no. This was full-on giddy thoughts, blushing smiles, twitching fingers, lovestruck puppy kind of attraction.</p><p>This was 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒.</p><p>It was beautiful, overflowing, captivating, enchanting, clumsy-footed light-headed ditzy-brained absolutely-over-the-moon kind of love.</p><p>He was absolutely, positively, 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛.</p><p>And it was 𝑤𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙.</p><p>Milo had never felt love like this before. He had never been as absolutely infatuated with a single person as he was now - not when he had a small crush on Melissa in elementary school, not when he realized he liked Amanda, not during any other crush he’d ever had before. This was the first time he had ever experienced such true, raw passionate 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 for one person. One special, beautiful, absolutely 𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 person that he adored with all his unlucky heart. A person he had never expected to fall in love with, but wasn’t exactly surprised, nor was he complaining at all. A new person, who had come into his life unannounced, who had simply appeared one day and made his entire existence a hundred times better. A 𝑏𝑜𝑦.</p><p>Milo Murphy was in love with Zack Underwood.</p><p>And he was 𝑠𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦.</p><p>Milo didn’t even know he liked boys. He didn’t think it was possible for him to like boys - it was just never a thought that crossed his mind. He‘d only had girl crushes - how could he like boys if all his crushes had been female?</p><p>But then one day, while out for pizza with his friends, Melissa had said something witty that was just so Melissa of her to say, making the boys laugh like they hadn’t in a while. When his laughter fit was over, in a fleeting moment of sudden giddiness, Milo had looked over at Zack. He had looked over for a single second. Just a quick, accidental glance.</p><p>And he had felt his heart melt.</p><p>In the dingy yellow light of the pizza parlor, with a muddied shirt and a scrape on his cheek and a glimmer in his eye and a laugh on his lips, Zack had looked absolutely 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙.</p><p>Milo was blushing when he turned away.</p><p>He had realized then that he had been sneaking glances at Zack far more often than he realized. That his skin tingled wherever Zack touched him and it had been happening for a while now. That Zack’s laugh continued to ring in his ears hours after he heard it. That Zack’s smile was burned into his brain so perfectly he could see it clearly in his head. He had realized then that these things had been happening for a long time. But was only then that it dawned on him just how hard he had fallen.</p><p>He had absolutely 𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑑, and he was still falling fast.</p><p>He was used to falling. He had been in way too many situations where free-falling through the air was safer than any other option, and he had always come out from it okay. But this time was different. This time, he was just falling, with no way to stop himself. This time, he was completely out of control.</p><p>But as he laid there on the hardwood floor at 3:07 AM Tuesday morning, doing snow-angels with zero snow in sight, absolutely overflowing with nothing but affection and wonder and joy for his best friend, Milo thought that maybe, just this one time, he was okay with being out of control.</p><p>His life, his happiness, was in Zack’s hands.</p><p>And he wouldn’t have it any other way.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. In which Zack acts oddly and Melissa and Bradley are in love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s mostly Bradlissa fluff. I love them. Sue me.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Did I finish season 2 a week after posting the first chapter and gain an immediate hyperfixation on Bradley and all things concerning him?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Uh...no<br/>Very much I did not<br/>What are you talking about?<br/>Not me. <br/>Wrong, bitch. </p>
<p>Anyway, enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So what are we betting this time?”</p>
<p>Melissa reached out to smack the side of Bradley’s head, earning a surprised yelp from the boy next to her. Bradley rubbed his head, glaring at the redhead, who only smirked. “Hey! What was that for?”</p>
<p>Melissa rolled her eyes, turning to stare out the window and watch the houses pass. “We’re not betting anything today, Brad. Give him a rest. I’m sure he’ll make it, and even if he doesn’t, we need a break from all the bets.”</p>
<p>Bradley frowned, leaning over to see her face better. “That’s a very odd thing for you to say. I thought you loved the bets.”</p>
<p>Melissa smiled lightly, turning back to face him with a small shrug. “Yeah, I do. I just think Milo should get at least one day of rest. If he doesn’t make it on time, he doesn’t make it. No big deal.”</p>
<p>“Sounds a bit like you’re losing faith in him.”</p>
<p>This time she punched his shoulder. Hard. “I did 𝑛𝑜𝑡 say that,” she almost growled, face twisted into a glare. Bradley flinched, scooting away as far as the bus seat would allow. “Okay, I was joking. Jeez.”</p>
<p>Melissa’s expression softened at his reaction and she gave a small smile. “Though if it 𝑤𝑎𝑠 true, I guess it’s because 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 rubbing off on me, ya jerk.” And she leaned over to peck his cheek, making Bradley turn several shades of red as Melissa smirked fondly at him. Bradley spluttered, waving his one hand around aimlessly, his plant arm tucked around his stomach, and Melissa laughed. “You’re such a dork.”</p>
<p>Bradley cleared his throat, nodded much too quickly, and looked awkwardly away. Rolling her eyes, Melissa flopped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, using her hand to turn his head so she could plant a chaste kiss on his lips.</p>
<p>Bradley just about fainted.</p>
<p>Melissa smiled. “Hey, you’re the one who was so desperate to date me. And now what are you gonna do, pass out every time I kiss you? Ya dork.”</p>
<p>“Shut it,” Bradley muttered weakly, leaning his head on her shoulder.</p>
<p>Someone cleared their throat, and Melissa looked up to see Mort and Chad grinning at them over the back of the seat in front of them. “You know,” Mort said slyly, Chad snickering beside him, “you guys should probably wait until you get home to make out.”</p>
<p>Bradley groaned. Melissa glared darkly at the boys.</p>
<p>They quickly turned around.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before the bus arrived at school. Everyone filed off, a murmur of aimless chatter filling the air as the students made their way into the building, Melissa and Bradley hand-in-hand. They hurried into their first class, sharing a small smile as they sat down together at a table, no Milo - or Zack - in sight. Melissa grinned as the bell rang. “The one time I don’t bet on it, Milo doesn’t show up. It’s like he knows.” Then her smile turned into a frown as she stared at the door in concern. “But I hope they’re okay...”</p>
<p>Bradley waved his vine arm dismissively. “Oh, I’m sure they’re fine. He’s Milo.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Melissa sighed. “I just don’t want them to be in actual danger. Hopefully they show up soon.”</p>
<p>Not thirty seconds later, the door slammed open and there stood Milo, a massive grin on his face. His cheeks were tinged a soft red, though based on the fact that he was panting hard, it was probably from exertion. “Hi, guys!” he said cheerfully, making his way into the classroom, his grin widening when he received several greetings in return, including that of one immensely relieved Melissa and one slightly more hesitant Bradley. “Sorry we’re late. We ran into a few obstacles on the way.”</p>
<p>“And by 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 he means we nearly died. Again.”</p>
<p>And there was Zack, standing hunched over in the doorway, hands on his knees, his shoes and the bottom of his pant legs coated in mud. After a second he stood up straight and followed slowly after Milo, almost collapsing in his seat next to the brunet, letting his head fall backward, gasping for breath. Melissa chuckled, although her voice was not completely devoid of concern when she asked, “What happened this time?”</p>
<p>Milo opened his mouth to respond, but Zack raised a hand and lifted his head, giving her a deadpan look. “You 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 wanna know.”</p>
<p>He let his head fall back again. Milo gently patted his shoulder.</p>
<p>Melissa shrugged. “If you say so.”</p>
<p>“Alright, class!”</p>
<p>Everyone looked to the front as Mrs. Murawski walked up to her desk, laying a protective hand on top of it as she addressed the room before her. “Let’s get started with today’s lesson.”</p>
<p>Melissa glanced to the side again as their science teacher droned on, somehow working her desk into the first sentence she said yet again. The redhead glanced at Milo for a quick second - he looked mildly uncomfortable, but was paying somewhat close attention to Mrs. Murawski - before turning her eyes to Zack next to him. He was sitting up, posture straight, hands folded on the desk in front of him, eyes forward, paying way too close attention to the teacher. It was like he was purposely keeping his gaze from wondering. Melissa frowned when she noticed he was also leaning away - just slightly, barely enough to be noticeable - from Milo.</p>
<p>Something was up.</p>
<p>She made a mental note to talk to him after class.</p>
<p>“Melissa!”</p>
<p>She jerked forward, eyes widening, ignoring the snickering of a few students behind her. “Yes, Mrs. Murawski?”</p>
<p>The teacher sighed. “You weren’t paying attention, were you?”</p>
<p>“No. Sorry.”</p>
<p>Beside her, Bradley grumbled under his breath, shooting a glare in Zack and Milo’s direction. Mrs. Murawski sighed again. “Please keep your eyes to the front from now on.”</p>
<p>“I will.”</p>
<p>“Good. So, as I was saying...”</p>
<p>—————</p>
<p>After class, Melissa had barely glanced in Zack’s direction, remembering her mental note, before Bradley was tugging her arm, pulling her out of the classroom. She looked over at him, mild annoyance turning to surprise when she noticed the poorly concealed hurt on his face. Melissa glanced back over at the other two boys before allowing herself to be pulled along by her boyfriend. Bradley stopped once they were halfway down the hall and turned to her, crossing his arms with a glare. “So? What was that all about?”</p>
<p>Melissa blinked. “...what?”</p>
<p>“At the beginning of class. You never let your eyes wander! What were you doing, 𝑜𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 Zack?”</p>
<p>He stretched out the word mockingly, as if it offended him.</p>
<p>Melissa laughed lightly. So that’s what this was about. Bradley grumbled at her reaction, turning his head away with a hurt look. Melissa shook her head, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. “No, Bradley, I was not ogling Zack. You know I don’t like him that way. I was just checking on him. He was acting weird - well, weirder than normal. I actually wanted to talk to him after class.”</p>
<p>Bradley huffed. He didn’t look convinced. Melissa sighed in exasperation and looked around, bright blue eyes searching the crowded hall for her other two boys - she smiled when she saw them and waved a hand to get their attention. Milo and Zack looked over at her and smiled back, and as soon as she was sure they were focused on her, she held out one finger - 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 - and turned toward Bradley, tapping him on the shoulder. He begrudgingly turned to face her, and when his eyes landed on her, then Zack and Milo behind her watching curiously from afar, Melissa smirked, reached out, and yanked him into a kiss, right there in the middle of the crowded hallway. Bradley let out a muffled squeak. There were a couple of snickers from other students, someone whistled (Melissa was 99.99% sure it was Chad) and when she pulled away, Bradley’s face was flushed a deep red. He stuttered something about getting to his next class and hurried off, leaving Melissa to fondly chuckle after her flustered boyfriend as she watched him go. She then made her way through the crowd of students - ducking past more than one teasing smirk and pat on the back - and popped up next to her other friends with a grin. “Had to make a point. Think it worked?”</p>
<p>“Oh it worked alright,” muttered Zack, who, Melissa was just noticing, had a resigned look on his face. Milo gave a visible wince that was probably meant to be much more discreet than it actually was, but was quick to cover it up with a smile aimed at Melissa. “Yeah, I don’t know what point it was but I’m pretty sure you proved it anyway!” he chirped, beaming at her in a way that almost made her wonder if she had imagined the pitying glance at Zack only a moment ago.</p>
<p>Almost.</p>
<p>She frowned, but decided not to mention it, and simply shrugged. “Bradley was acting all jealous. You know him. Speaking of, Zack, can we talk real quick? I got a question.”</p>
<p>Milo glanced at Zack out of the corner of his eye, hands tightening almost imperceptibly on the straps of his backpack. Zack blinked, then sighed softly before nodding. “Sure.” He turned to Milo, looking as if he was forcing the smile he gave the brunet. “See you after class?”</p>
<p>Milo nodded much too eagerly, gave Zack a very poorly hidden thumbs up, waved cheerfully at Melissa, and hurried off down the hall.</p>
<p>A water fountain exploded behind him, soaking a few passersby.</p>
<p>Melissa frowned. “Uh...okay, that was weird. Is he okay, or...?”</p>
<p>Zack sighed again, rubbing his forehead tiredly. “It’s a 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 long story. I’ll explain later.” He looked up at her expectantly. “So what did you need?”</p>
<p>“I was actually going to ask if you’re okay. You seemed...tense, in class. Is something wrong?”</p>
<p>𝑅𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑔!</p>
<p>Aaaaaaaand that was the bell. Melissa jumped, eyes widening in shock. Zack only groaned. “That’s a part of that very long story. I’ll tell you after school.” He then turned on his heel and strode quickly away.</p>
<p>Melissa only took a second to stare after him worriedly before she turned and sprinted down the hall, mentally scolding herself for being late to class.</p>
<p>This was going to be a very odd day.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So...sorry for the long wait! Yeah, this  chapter is mostly just fluff because I want to practice writing Bradlissa, so forgive me if anyone is out of character - this is my first MML fic after all. So as it turns out, this book will probably be a lot longer than three or four chapters - so buckle up for a WILD ride, my friends. Shit’s about to get real.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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